Daphne in Concert

"Strauss at his most ingenious" (The New York Times)

January 16 & 18, 2026
McCaw Hall

Overview

Richly imagined, extravagantly scored”

– Opera Today

Music by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Joseph Gregor

A "mix of mythological drama and pastoral romance" (The New York Times). Daphne finds romance in the beauty and celebration of nature, not in the arms of men. When two suitors vie for her heart, Apollo aims his arrow and Daphne mourns the loss of a childhood friend. To ease her grief, Zeus grants her wish to become one with nature, allowing her to transform into one of her beloved laurel trees.

This seldom-heard pastoral opera is "Strauss at his most ingenious" (The New York Times) and features thrilling, opulent orchestrations, including the celebrated "metamorphosis" scene concluding the opera. With members of the Seattle Symphony, Daphne is perfect for a concert presentation.

Performance Information

McCaw Hall

In German with English subtitles

Friday evening performance at 7:30 PM. Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM.

Performance Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes including 1 intermission

Movie-Style Rating: PG

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Cast

J'Nai Bridges

Dido

Mezzo Soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Dido, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Delilah, Samson and Delilah in Concert (’23)
Engagements: Lucinda, Intelligence (Houston Grand Opera); Soloist, Stabat Mater (New York Philharmonic); Mezzo-Soprano, El Niño (Metropolitan Opera); Carmen, Carmen (Hamburg State Opera, Arena di Verona, Dutch National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari); Nefertiti, Akhnaten (Metropolitan Opera); Soloist, Still and Negrón with Gustavo Dudamel (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Last Updated: December 2023

J'Nai Bridges

Dido

Jan. 17 & 19

Russell Thomas

Aeneas

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Aeneas, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Miami, FL
Seattle Opera Debut: Foresto, Attila (’11)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Ismaele, Nabucco (’15); Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann (’14)
Seattle Opera Young Artist: 2002/03
Engagements: Don Carlos, Don Carlos (Staatsoper Hamburg); Don Alvaro, La Forza del Destino (Norwegian Opera); Parsifal, Parsifal (Houston Grand Opera); Radames, Aida (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Calaf, Turandot (Los Angeles Opera); Cavaradossi, Tosca (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)

Last Updated: November 2023

Russell Thomas

Aeneas

Jan. 17 & 19

Kelley O'Connor

Anna

Mezzo-soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Anna, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Clovis, CA
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Soloist, Mahler’s Third Symphony (San Francisco Symphony); Mahler’s Second Symphony (Kansas City Symphony Orchestra); Neruda Songs (Aspen Music Festival); Recitalist, Kelley O’Connor & Myra Huang in Recital (Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival); Soloist, America: A Prophecy (Leipzig, Cleveland); Verdi’s Requiem (Colorado Symphony)

Last Updated: January 2024

Kelley O'Connor

Anna

Seattle Opera Debut
Jan. 17 & 19

Adam Lau

Narbal

Bass
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Soloist, 60th Anniversary Concert & Gala
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Narbal, Les Troyens in Concert; Cesare Angelotti, Tosca

Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Seattle Opera Debut: Papa and Makoto Kobayashi, An American Dream (’15)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Angelotti, Tosca (’21); Masetto, Don Giovanni (’21); Alidoro, Cinderella (’19); Kōbun Chino Otogawa, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (’19); Ferrando, Il trovatore (’19); Speaker, The Magic Flute ('17)
Engagements: Colline, La bohème (Opera Philadelphia); Dr. Grenvil, La traviata (Metropolitan Opera); Sarastro, The Magic Flute (Ravinia Festival); Soloist, Verdi’s Requiem (Carnegie Hall); Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro (Utah Opera); Sam, Un Ballo in Maschera (San Francisco Opera)

Last Updated: January 2024

Adam Lau

Narbal

Jan. 17 & 19

Andrew Potter

Panthée

Bass
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Panthée, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Mansfield, OH
Seattle Opera Debut: Mullah/Sharif/Soldier, A Thousand Splendid Suns (’23); Abimelech, Samson and Delilah in Concert (’23)
Engagements: Harašta, The Cunning Little Vixen (Detroit Opera); Colline, La bohème (Pacific Symphony); Quince, A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Atlanta Opera); Ferrando, Il trovatore (Opera Santa Barbara); Angelotti, Tosca (Dallas Opera); Vodnik, Rusalka (Portland Opera)

Last Updated: February 2024

Andrew Potter

Panthée

Jan. 17 & 19

John Matthew Myers

Iopas

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2023 24: Iopas, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Lake Forest, CA
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Peter Grimes (cover), Peter Grimes Metropolitan Opera); Mao Tse-Tung, Nixon in China (Opera National de Paris); Mario Cavardossi, Tosca (Arizona Opera); Kaiser (cover) Die Frau Ohne Schatten (San Francisco Opera); Froh, Das Rheingold (Los Angeles Philharmonic); Bacchus, Ariadne auf Naxos (Teatro La Venice)

Last Updated: March 2024

John Matthew Myers

Iopas

Seattle Opera Debut
Jan. 17 & 19

Richard L. Hodges

Mercure/Ghost of Priam

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Mercure/Ghost of Priam, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Seattle Opera Debut: Friend/Ensemble, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X ('24)
Engagements: Ensemble, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (The Metropolitan Opera); Friend/Ensemble, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Detroit Opera); Lawyer Frazier/Undertaker, Porgy and Bess (Greensboro Opera Company); Preacher, Sweet Land (The Industry LA); William Still, Sanctuary Road (Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra); Director of Voice Studies, Western Washington University

Last Updated: September 2024

Richard L. Hodges

Mercure/Ghost of Priam

Jan. 17 & 19

Creative Team

Ludovic Morlot

Conductor

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Conductor, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Lyon, France
Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus of Seattle Symphony
Seattle Opera Debut: Beatrice and Benedict (’18)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Das Rheingold (’23); Samson and Delilah in Concert ('23); Welcome Back Concert: Die Walküre (’21)

Engagements: Music Director (Barcelona Symphony Orchestra); Conductor Emeritus (Seattle Symphony); Associate Artist (BBC Philharmonic); Guest Conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Danish National Symphony)

Last Updated: January 2024

Ludovic Morlot

Conductor

Anderson Nunnelley

Director

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Director, Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Seattle Opera Debut: Assistant Director, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (’20)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Associate Stage Director, A Thousand Splendid Suns ('23); Assistant Director, Blue (’22); Artistic Administration Intern (’12–13)
Recent Engagements: Assistant Director, Lucia Di Lammermore (LA Opera); Assistant Director, Falstaff, and The Lord of Cries (Santa Fe Opera); Associate Producer, Svadba (Boston Lyric Opera & Opera Philadelphia); Associate Producer, Solider Song (Opera Philadelphia)
Upcoming Engagements: Assistant Director, Pelleas (Santa Fe Opera)

Last Updated: April 2024

Anderson Nunnelley

Director

Robert Aguilar

Lighting Designer

Lighting Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Sunnyside, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Lighting Designer, Orpheus and Eurydice ('22)
Engagements: The Skin of Our Teeth, Fat Ham, Laughs in Spanish (Seattle Rep); Mary Poppins, Something’s Afoot, Waitress (5th Avenue Theatre); The Hobbit, A Christmas Story (Pittsburgh Public Theater); Beautiful, Once on This Island (Village Theatre); Waitress, In the Heights (Theatre Under the Stars); Golden (ACT Contemporary Theatre)

Last Updated: September 2024

Robert Aguilar

Lighting Designer

Ashlee Naegle

Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Designer

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer, Pagliacci; Jubilee; Lucidity; Les Troyens in Concert; The Magic Flute; Tosca

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Seattle Opera Debut: Hair and Makeup Intern, Giulio Cesare (2007)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Supplemental Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer, Das Rheingold ('23); Alcina ('23); X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X ('24); The Barber of Seville ('24)

Ashlee Naegle made a name for herself early on in her career by mastering the dying art of wig building. She created and designed for several companies around town until the Seattle Opera created an in-house Hair and Makeup Designer position for her in 2017. During her time as the in-house Hair and Makeup Designer, she has built a sizable wig collection, built a department, and set high standards for wigs, hair and makeup. With each production, her designs are custom built for the performers and their characters to create a believable façade for the audience as well as complement the costumes and production as a whole.

Last Updated: July 2024

Ashlee Naegle

Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Designer

Michaella Calzaretta

Chorus Master

Chorus Master

Hometown: Muscatine, IA
Seattle Opera debut: The Elixir of Love (’22)
Michaella Calzaretta made her Seattle Opera debut in 2022 as the company’s new chorus master and head of music staff. Acclaimed for her high standards and superb preparation skills, Calzaretta oversees all musical activities at the company and prepares the chorus for main stage productions. In January, the chorus embarked on their immensely successful first-ever tour to Mt. Vernon and Vashon Island. Recent praise includes “Her chorus was one of the stars... the voices were radiant” (Bachtrack) and “... the singers are both zesty and accurate (they’re also extremely nimble)” (The Seattle Times). Calzaretta is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at Indiana University.

Last Updated: July 2024

Michaella Calzaretta

Chorus Master

Staging Staff

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

Production Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Les Troyens in Concert, The Magic Flute, Tosca

Hometown: Houston, TX
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: The Little Mermaid, Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake, Mayerling, The Nutcracker (Houston Ballet)

Last Updated: September 2024

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

Seattle Opera Debut

Cristine Reynolds

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: San Anselmo, CA
Seattle Opera Debut: Aida ('92)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Pelleas et Melisande ('93), The Ring Cycle ('95), An American Dream ('15), The Ring Cycle ('00–13)
Engagements: Acis, Galatea & Polyphemus (Orpheus PDX); Forsythe County is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier) (Atlanta Opera); mindplay (Arena Stage); Freaky Friday (Alley Theatre, Cleveland Play House); Vanity Fair (Shakespeare Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre); Red Riding Hood (Seattle Children’s Theatre)

Last Updated: September 2024

Cristine Reynolds

Assistant Stage Manager

Bret Torbeck

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Les Troyens in Concert

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Blue ('22)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Bound ('23); The Elixir of Love ('22)
Engagements: The Skin of Our Teeth, The Tempest, What the Constitution Means to Me (Seattle Rep); Sweat (ACT Theatre); Candide (Alliance Theatre and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra); Eugene Onegin (Spoleto Festival)